Student Interview - Gregg Khodorov, Currently in the M.D.-MBA Program

Name: Gregg Khodorov

Age: 23


Concentration: Healthcare Management


Previous Experience: Several years of clinical research in neurodegenerative disease and movement disorders at the NIH (Bethesda, MD), Beth Israel Medical Center (NYC), and Mount Sinai Hospital (NYC).
Pfizer MBA Summer Associate, Worldwide Research and Development--Strategy, Portfolio, Competitive Intelligence, and Enterprise Operations

What made you decide to pursue an MD/MBA degree compared to just an M.D.?
I've always wanted to be a doctor, but I toyed with the idea of an MBA before even applying to medical school. I think I saw the Affordable Care Act as a sign that healthcare was going to need a major overhaul from the provider side within the coming years, and the idea of being involved in that excited me. It wasn't until I started class here that I really understood just how large the new frontier of personalized medical technology, as a result of a realignment of provider-payor incentives, and value-based care was turning out to be.
On top of that, my parents were entrepreneurs--both of them immigrated to this country from the former Soviet Union, and within a few years, my father had started his own consulting business, and my mother helped him run it. Growing up, I watched them work hard to grow their business. My dad taught me how a stock market worked when I was in middle school. I always loved learning business informally over the dinner table, but I wanted to academically fill the gaps with an MBA.

What was the deciding factor/s to go to Rutgers for this degree?
The football team (I'm kidding, but go RU!). Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School was my first choice in terms of where I wanted to be for my medical education. That was really the deciding factor for me.
That said, I was blown away by the caliber of faculty at Rutgers Business School. Some of the greatest professors I've ever had, and if I had to do the MBA portion over again, I'd choose Rutgers every time.

You pursued the MBA portion of this degree during your first year in the program. What did you see as the benefits to doing this?
The obvious benefit that made me choose to pursue the degree in this way was so that I could now have four consecutive years of medical school ahead of me, uninterrupted.
What I didn't foresee, and personally I think this is more important in retrospect, is that I've acquired an understanding of the industry I'm about to enter. Healthcare is complicated, and to say that most clinicians today don't have the time to understand how the industry works at the macroscopic level is an understatement. Physicians' time is too valuable for operational inefficiencies, miscommunication, and bureaucratic politics. Understanding the pain points of healthcare delivery before diving head-first into the job is a unique perspective that will allow me to mold my career in a way that aims to alleviate these pains.

What interests you the most in this program?
The unique perspective on the industry, especially with Rutgers' outstanding pharmaceutical management, healthcare services management, and health operations faculty. I'll never forget the picture of the healthcare industry that was painted for me by the outstanding professors in the program.

What are some of the biggest insights you gained from your year in the MBA program?
The Healthcare Management custom concentration allowed me to take elective classes at the School of Public Health and the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Health Economics, Health Finance, Health Policy, and US Healthcare/Pharma Managed Markets were some of the most valuable classes in terms of broadening my understanding of what's happening right now with regards to health reform.

What is some advice you would give to someone in the M.D.-MBA program that has yet to take any MBA courses yet?
There was very little career guidance offered to us MD/MBA Students. Understandably so, considering the assumption is that we'll all become practicing physicians, and job security is certainly not an issue. Nonetheless, here are my bits of advice:
1. Use the year to expand your horizons--there is so much opportunity for physicians outside of clinical practice.
2. Talk to classmates, they all have unique perspectives with regards to healthcare. Some of them have years of experience in the industry.
3. Go to healthcare-specific events and meet entrepreneurs and employees.
4. The degree is of little use as extra signage at the end of your name--use what you're learning in class and apply it elsewhere.

Would you go about anything differently if you were to do the MBA program again?
I think I made the most of my year, so probably not. There's always room for improvement, but never room for rumination, in my opinion.

What do you plan to do once you graduate?
Change the world, millions of patients at a time.

Please feel free to add anything else you would like to include.
If healthcare or biomedical entrepreneurship interests you, please feel free to join us over at the Biomedical Entrepreneurship Network!
Website: benrwj.com
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/groups/202855100133929?tsid=0.16894662610480127&source=typeahead
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8572123

Student Interview: Priya Jayarangan, Full-Time Student, Class of 2017

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I suppose I was a “Jersey Girl” till I went to New York University for my B.S. in Information Systems and Management & Organizational Behavior. I lived and worked in NYC for a few years and when I got tired of crowded subways, took an opportunity in Boston for a couple of years. As a healthcare consultant during a dynamic time in the industry, I got to travel all over the country and work on a variety of projects. I decided to come to Rutgers Business School to take my career to the next level and also come back home.

What do you consider your favorite class thus far?

Global Procurement and Strategic Sourcing with Professor Impellizzeri—I learned a lot in terms of knowledge and tools in his class that I use at my internship every day. He was even gracious enough to meet me for coffee over the summer to brainstorm ideas on how I could tackle my project.

What would you say is the best experience you had during year one?

Meeting some of my best friends!

What do you think are the most important learning experiences you gained during year one?

It might seem obvious but my biggest lesson this past year was realizing that different people have different work styles and standards. Most people don’t adjust theirs so if you can learn how to accommodate yourself and manage others’ differences and still foster a productive/harmonious team environment, you’ll be successful in a career in management.

What is your internship title, and where is it taking place?

Procurement Leadership Development Program (PLDP) Intern at Johnson & Johnson.

What have you gained from your internship thus far?

The “L” in PLDP is real. I have gained the opportunity (and responsibility) to independently lead a project and experience all that comes with it—creative problem solving, understanding the business, influencing stakeholders to get buy-in for proposed solutions, and following through by implementing the solutions. Experiencing both the successes and failures of being a leader helped me grow my career in a way that I had not been able to before.

What do you hope to accomplish while in your internship?

Given that Procurement is a support function, I would hope to see that I made some real and positive impact in the lives of my business partners. I worked with a team that was frustrated with the procurement process in general so I hope my efforts changed their perspective and they see procurement as invaluable.

What advice do you have for prospective or incoming students?

I will refute the advice to “take it one day at a time.” Instead, look ahead and plan ahead. Business school is more about working smart than working hard. It is incredibly time consuming and you simply will not have the time to get everything done. How successful you are at planning ahead and being strategic about how you spend your time will be key to having a productive and balanced two years. That said, take advantage of every opportunity you get! Network, get to know your professors and let them get to know you, sit in the front row, go to corporate presentations as well as happy hours with your new friends. You’ll never get to live this lifestyle again (unless you go back to business school) so live it fully!

What do you wish you knew before school began?

Business school is less academic and more experiential than I expected—but this is a good thing and a pleasant surprise! Yes, grades matter but I would argue that the connections you make and relationships you build are more important.

What made you decide to become a full-time student as opposed to part-time?

I was fully committed to getting my MBA and wanted to keep my focus on business school and not be distracted by anything else. I don’t think I would have had the time or energy to build the network, relationships, and camaraderie that I have as a part time student.

Student Interview: Trisha Wagh, Full-Time Student, Class of 2017

Concentration: Pharmaceutical Management and Marketing

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I’m basically a Jersey native -  went to Rutgers University New Brunswick for undergrad (go Scarlet Knights!) where I majored in Exercise Science and Psychology. I “stumbled upon” advertising/marketing after college and ended up loving it. Before RBS, I was at Bristol-Myers Squibb in their advertising department as well as at Digitas Health working in healthcare advertising for Pfizer and Abbvie.

What do you consider your favorite class thus far?

Hmm….I think it’s a tie between Marketing Strategy (Prof. Kalan) and Consumer Behavior (Prof. Burgess). Oh! Business Communications was fun too, so was US Healthcare! (Maybe you should ask me what my least favorite class was, it’ll be a shorter list LOL)

What would you say is the best experience you had during year one?

Connecting with like-minded, furiously ambitious people in my class. Because the full-time class is pretty small, you are able to form close-knit relationships with each person. I have met some amazing people at RBS and I can honestly say we will be friends for a very looooooooooooooooong time (You're stuck with me, Katherine Hayes!)

What do you think are the most important learning experiences you gained during year one?

Don’t stress about grades as much. B-school is very different from undergrad, wherein, you are here to accelerate your career development - always have that end goal in mind. Networking (read: schmoozing) and making meaningful connections with people that can help you grow in your career is more valuable than getting an A+ in Microeconomics. I think absorbing the right information and truly learning to enrich yourself is more important than the letter grade.

What is your internship title, and where is it taking place?

Marketing Summer Associate at Bristol-Myers Squibb

What have you gained from your internship thus far?

I have learned a couple lessons so far:

1. It is not important to have all the answers but it is important to know people who do
2. There is a big difference between networking and meaningful networking and it is important to understand that difference. Generally, “networking” is synonymous with having a cocktail and talking about sports but my internship has taught me that it is deeper than that. In order to make an impact on senior leaders at work, it is critical to have a set agenda of what you want to discuss and make sure to ask thought-provoking questions (i.e stuff you can’t Google)
3. Yes, there is such a thing as stupid questions

What do you hope to accomplish while in your internship?

First and foremost, I want to add value to my team by delivering successfully on all of summer projects. I want my manager and team to realize that I am an asset to the team. You want to try and make yourself as indispensable as possible.

Secondly, I also want to continue to grow my network and learn more about the areas in pharma that I know nothing about. Being an intern is a huge advantage because everybody is so willing to talk to you and will make time for you - I’ve been using this opportunity to connect with senior leaders in other departments of the company such as Finance, R&D, etc. This is a good way to demonstrate your passion for the company and maximize your facetime with as many people as possible (But remember - meaningful networking)

What advice do you have for prospective or incoming students?

Invest in your career early. There is very little room to “explore” at B-school, you should really have a fairly detailed idea of what career path you want to take that way you can tailor your experiences at school and make yourself marketable for your unique set of opportunities. Coming into school, I knew I wanted to get into pharmaceutical marketing. Based on this, I  registered for several of the pharma management classes at school (Yes, this is a plug for Branning’s US Healthcare class). I went to all of the pharma/healthcare focused corporate presentations and events, learned as much about the industry as I could and as a result, was able to have well-informed, meaningful conversations with industry professionals at interviews, networking events and at my internship.

What do you wish you knew before business school began?

The importance of time management. The first semester can be extremely overwhelming - you have classes, recruiting and extra-curriculars to balance. I procrastinated way too much initially and immediately regretted it (when I pulled an all-nighter for the Financial Management midterm). Use your time wisely and while it’s awesome having Fridays off (deceptively) - use them for more than sleeping in (I totally DIDN’T do that :-P)

Think of time as a set of scales with ‘Career’ on one side and ‘Classes’ on the other - sometimes, you are going to have to prioritize career if a corporate presentation and interview is coming up. Whereas, if you have already secured an internship, you may want to focus more on classes. It really just depends on the week. Get comfortable with not being able to be everywhere at once!

What made you decide to become a full-time student as opposed to part-time?

At Rutgers, being a full-time student allows you to reap the full benefits of what B-school has to offer and it is so much more than just attending class. You can attend networking events, attend career workshops on Fridays, go to Martinis in the middle of the day with your classmates (it’s always 5pm somewhere, right?). For me personally, had I been a part-time student, I would have been torn between work and school and I definitely would not have been able to form the relationships that I did with my classmates.

Anything else you would like to add?

Always remember that at the end of the day, you are getting your MBA to get a better job! Grades are important but your career is WAY more important. It is rare that you will get asked for your grades by a potential employer

4th Annual Biopharmaceutical Case Competition

On Friday, November 20, the 4th Annual Biopharmaceutical Case Competition took place at Rutgers Business School, Newark. The event was sponsored by the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Management Program and teams from nine different schools competed in the case competition. Students spent a week preparing a biosimilar defense plan for the drug Humira, and then presented their strategies to judges from gold level sponsoring companies Bayer, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Herspiegel Consulting and Campbell Alliance.  In addition to participating in the case competition, students were able to attend a panel discussion, moderated by Dean Sharon Lydon, about careers in the Pharmaceutical Industry. The event concluded with a cocktail session where students, guests and sponsors were able to network and celebrate the competition. 

2015 Case Competition Participants!

Panel Discussion

Panel Moderator Sharon Lydon

Judges from Herspiegel Consulting, Bayer and Campbell Alliance

The event was extra special for Rutgers Business School as the Rutgers Team composed of Priya Kar, James Ma, Irene Mac, Kinshuk Saxena and Aneesh Vase placed 2nd!!!! 

The team also learned a lot from the experience and team member Irene Mac states "Participating in the case competition was a great experience. It made me realize how much I have learned as a second year MBA student, especially from the pharmaceutical management curriculum. Because of how current and applicable the subject matter of the case was, I will be able to use the strategies we developed in my future endeavors working in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Congrats to the Rutgers team and all the other participating teams:

Eli Broad College of Business: Michigan State University

Duke University Fuqua School of Business

MIT Sloan School of Management

Boston University Questrom School of Business

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School 

The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania  

Yale School of Management 

Georgetown McDonough School of Business

The judges recognized the following:

1st Place - Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business

2nd Place - Rutgers Business School 

3rd Place - Yale School of Management

Honorable Mention - Georgetown McDonough School of Business

Best Presenter - Brent Schneider, Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business

A special thanks goes out to Professor Hassan, Program Manager Anabel Damacela, and Student Organizers Mike Koskulics and Jen Abalajon!!

Annual Diwali Celebration - 2015

Last week students, faculty and staff celebrated Diwali, one of the largest festivals in India. To celebrate "The Festival of Lights", the International Student Organization decorated the 2nd floor lounge and threw a party complete with food, drinks, dancing and entertainment. Members of the Full-Time Class of 2016 and 2017 participated in a talent show where students sang, dance and walked in a fashion show. After the entertainment, there was an Indian Buffet and students sang karaoke and danced some more! It was also so fun to see everyone dressed up in traditional Indian clothes! Thanks to the ISO board for throwing such a fun event!

ZS Associates Site Visit

This past Friday, ZS Associates (Princeton) hosted members of the Rutgers Marketing Research Insights and Analytics Club for a site visit. ZS Associates is one of the world's largest business services firms specializing in transforming sales and marketing from an art to a science.

Rutgers Students and ZS Principal Bekia Fosam

The day started with an introduction from Noelle Bruno, ZS Recruiter, who welcomed the students to the Princeton office and went over the agenda for the day. Glenn Sabin, Principal, then gave an overview of the company and its history. He also answered questions from students about the type of clients ZS works with and the effect big data has had on market research. Glenn’s talk was followed by a Lunch & Learn delivered by MRIA Advisory Board member, Paul Kraus. He spoke about how market research and customer insights drive sales and marketing, market research best practices, and the ZS Customer Insights team. Students learned a lot about the framework for a successful market research study from Paul. The next event scheduled was a Panel Discussion with Business Consultants Sean Newcomb, Adam Schneider and Josh Hattem, and Business Consulting Manager Jennifer Minuchi. They talked about how they got to their respective jobs, gave examples of projects they are currently working on, and offered advice for MBA students considering entering consulting. The day wrapped up with a lively discussion with MRIA Advisory Board member and Principal, Bekia Fosam. He asked students to summarize what they learned from the day and also answered any lingering questions. He concluded by telling students the two things necessary to be successful consultants: keep learning all the time and never be satisfied with your work.

Glenn Sabin giving an overview of ZS

Paul Kraus delivering a Lunch & Learn

Panel Discussion

Thank you so much ZS for hosting the Rutgers MRIA Club and we look forward to working with you again in the future!

Novartis Panel Discussion

In business, Procurement is the act of buying the goods and services necessary to keep a company operational. While it may seem simple in theory, it’s a complex field that requires strategic and analytical thinking in conjunction with softer skills such as emotional intelligence and communication.

Rupa Banerjee delivering introductory remarks

On Thursday, November 5^th, Rutgers Business School hosted a panel discussion where executives from Novartis shared stories from their careers in Procurement. Michael Brueckner (US Head of Procurement), Michael McKenna (US Head of Corporate Services Procurement), AnnMarieMoran (US Head, Marketing and Sales Procurement), Thomas Michaels (US Head, Real Estate and Facilities Procurement), Caitlin Mosco (Sourcing Manager, Global Procurement), and Todd Bittiger (Global Supplier Performance and Innovation Manager) were all in attendance. Rupa Banerjee, Co-President of the Management Consulting Club, kicked off the event by welcoming all the panelists and attendees. Professor Eric Larson then spoke about how the RBS Supply ChainManagement program has grown, and that Rutgers is now one of the top schools in the country for students interested in Supply Chain. Next, Shakun Wattal, Co-President of the Supply Chain Student Initiative, introduced each of the panelists and gave a brief description of their role at Novartis.

Novartis Panel Discussion

The panel then kicked off with a video where the Novartis CEO, Joseph Jimenez, talks about the mission of Novartis and the patients they serve. It was very clear that all of the work Novartis does is centered on allowing patients to overcome their respective diseases and live a normal life. Mr. Jimenez  explained, “I have arrived at a very simple concept: normal is extraordinary. There is nothing more extraordinary than a normal life." Mike Koskulics, Co-President of the Pharmaceutical Management Club, served as the panel moderator and segued into the discussion by asking the panelists what inspired them to get to the point in their careers they are at today. All of the panelists came from different backgrounds, but it was clear they all have a passion for Procurement and the effect it can have on an organization like Novartis. Mr. Brueckner talked about how he wanted to work in Procurement because it gives you a broad view of the company and the business. Mr. McKenna comes from an academic background and described how the world of academia shaped his professional career in Procurement. Mr. Michaels noted that Procurement is all about saving money and at Novartis, every dollar he is able to save can go developing new drugs or helping patients pay for their medication. Mr. Bittiger explained how procurement also affects the top line in a business and that is what inspires him. If he is able to do his job well and form strategic partnerships with top suppliers, he can make Novartis their client of choice and this ensures that Novartis’s products are brought to market in the most efficient and successful way possible.

The next topic of discussion focused on how students can be successful in Novartis without a strong Pharmaceutical background. Ms. Moran assured students that it’s OK to come to Novartis without a Pharmaceutical background. Instead of having broad knowledge about the industry, having skills essential to the function of Procurement is more important. Ms. Mosco elaborated by saying skills like being able to develop relationships and effectively communicate are the most important to her career.

Mike then opened up the panel to a general Q&A and the panelists covered topics such as innovation and the changing landscape of Procurement.  The event concluded with closing remarks from the Chair of the Supply Chain Management Program, Professor Rosa Oppenheim. It was an informative and engaging event that the students benefited from and enjoyed. Thank you to Rupa, Shakun, Michael and the countless other people involved who made this event such a success! And a special thanks to the panelists for taking time out of their busy schedules to come to RBS. We hope you’ll return again soon!